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IMAGES
From
Nostalgiaville |
NOTE: A Click of your Mouse on most of the pictures will enlarge them for better viewing
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ODIORNE POINT STATE PARK, NEW HAMPSHIRE |
| Odiorne Point... where the sand, surf and rocks meet the mighty sea |
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| HISTORY... ODORNE POINT, NEW HAMPSHIRE |
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THE ISLES OF SHOALS Nine miles out to sea a cluster of rocky islands has drawn fishermen, pirates, poets and tourists for centuries. Fishermen from England lived on the island during the late 1500's. In 1605, the French explorer Samuel de Champlain visited the islands, and Captain John Smith named them Smith's Isles in 1616. For two centuries, Isles of Shoals' dried codfish brought the highest prices in Europe. |
| Great storms have raged over the islands, wrecking ships and casting sailors onto the rocks. Pirates are said to have buried their treasure there. One wrecked ship left a quantity of silver pieces among the rocks on Appledore Island. A three-legged pot of gold is said to have been dug up on Star Island. In 1839, Thomas Laighton became the lighthouse keeper on White Island. He eventually opened one hotel, the Mid-Ocean House, on Smuttynose Island, and another, the Appledore House, on Hog Island. Laighton's daughter, Celia Thaxter, became the Isles' foremost poet, and the Appledore House became a summer retreat for many of America's literary giants of the late 1800's. |
| Across the narrow beach we flit, One little sandpiper and I, And fast I gather, bit by bit, |
The scattered driftwood bleached and
dry. The wild waves reach their hands for it, The wild wind raves, the tide runs high, |
As up and down the beach we flit,- One little sandpiper and I. Celia Thaxter |
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THE SUGDEN HOUSE This building, constructed of native rubble stone, is the last remaining structure of the late 19th and early 20th century summer home community that existed here prior to World War II. It was built in 1920 as a summer home for Robert I Sugden. As harbor defense became a concern, Fort Dearborn was constucted. The Sugden house became a headquarters, mess hall, and fire control room for Battery F, 22nd Coast Artillery during World War II. It became arimen's barracks in 1954 - 1957, and was used as a park manager's residence in the 1970's. |
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PLANTING THE SEEDS OF CIVILIZATION In the spring of 1623, the ship Jonathan out of Plymouth, England, sighted land. David Thomson and ten others, including his wife, established the first permanent settlement on this land. It was called Pannaway, and Indian name for what we know today as Odiorne Point. Thomson and his crew built a fort on the point as protection from the Indians. |
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THE PANNAWAY FORT Pannaway had a good supply of fresh water, could be defended easily and had extensive salt marshes which provided salt hay for cattle fodder and thatch for roofing material. These first settlers and others who would join them were fishermen, traders and farmers |
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MILITARY ERA Franklin D Roosevelt/s visit to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on August 10, 1940 initiated major changes at Odiorne Point. It was realized that Forts Constitution and Stark could not provide adequate defense. Demolishing the existing fortifications to build new and larger ones would leave the harbor and shipyard undefended. Therefore, the federal government purchased 265 acres at Odiorne Point, and a new fortification was constructed. |
| It was named Fort Dearborn in honor of Henry Dearborn, a native of nearby Hampton, who was a Revolutionary War officer and secretary of war from 1801 to 1809. By 1942 standards, the fort's muscle was substantial. Battery Seaman contained two 16-inch guns capable of firing a projectile 26 miles. Four guns capable of firing a projectile 26 miles. Four 155mm guns which could follow moving ships were in place near here. Battery 204, between Battery Seaman and the 155mm guns, contained two 6-inch guns with a range of 15 miles. |
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NATURAL HILLS Look closely at the hill in front of you. During World War II bunkers like this one were constructed to house large guns and then camouflaged to look like natural hills. Fort Dearborn located here on Odiorne Point played an active role in the defense of Portsmouth Harbor and the naval shipyard. Following the war, the inside of this one was equipped as a civil defense shelter and a rotating radar unit was placed on top. In 1959, Fort Dearborn was declared surplus property and was acquired by the State of New Hampshire for use as a state park. |
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BATTERY 204 This reinforced concrete structure, covered with earth, was built in the early 1940's as part of Fort Dearborn. It was one of several coastal defense installations built to protect Portsmouth Harbor and the naval shipyard during World War II. The structure was a typical World War II intermediate range harbor defense battery. Its fire power consisted of two six-inch guns placed 210 feet apart that had a range of 15 miles. |
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| They were mounted facing the Atlantic on the circular concrete bases still seen at each end of the structure. Powder and shells were stored deep within Battery 204. In addition to a 17 foot square reinforced concrete fire control center located on the roof, the fortification consisted of thirteen rooms of various sizes buried under enough concrete and steel to withstand direct aerial and naval bombardment. |
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THE RUSSELL B TOBEY VISITOR CENTER In memory of New Hampshire's first director of state parks, the Sugden House became the Russell B Tobey Visitor Center at Odiorne Point State Park in 1985. During his 36 years of service from 1935 to 1971, Russell B Tobey built a state park system encompassing thousands of acres and dozens of parks across New Hampshire. His final park acquisition was Odiorne Point in 1961. The visitor center is cooperatively operated by the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation, the University of New Hampshire, the Audubon Society of New Hampshire, and the Friends of Odiorne Point. Students, teachers and park visitors from around the world enjoy its varied programs of nature study and historic appreciation. |
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THE SANDY BEACH Along a sandy shore there are usually no large rocks, algae or tidal pools. The animals living in the sandy beach community at Odiorne Point State Park have few places to attach or protect themselves. Most have, therefore, adapted by burrowing into the sand. Some are so small, they can live between individual grains of sand. |
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Clam worms, which grow up to 3 feet in length, live in burrows during the day. At night they come out to prey on small crustaceans and mollusks. Some creatures are able to move under the sand, following the tide in and out. Others, which can tolerate the dry periods between the tides stay in one spot. |
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BEE AND BUTTERFLY GARDEN |
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